


My Second Lifetime

by LumianaKatenke



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Brief Triangle Bill, Coming of Age, Episodic Chapters, Eventual Smut, First Portion is Mostly, Forced Bonding, Human Bill Cipher, M/M, Magic, Magic Dipper Pines, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Soul Bond, Soulmates, Temporary Amnesia, This Was First Supposed to be Cute Baby Dip & Bill, but it got out of hand
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:46:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24285316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LumianaKatenke/pseuds/LumianaKatenke
Summary: With no other choices left, Dipper uses a costly spell to stop Bill and to save his family and the Falls. Now both having been turned into newborn infants, their memories erased and having their souls bonded together, the pair must now live out their lives with a looming deadline over them./\/\/\In other words, this is a story that I came up with on a whim a couple weeks ago and loved the concept. My fellow BillDip content creators encouraged me to write it so here we are! This will be a more episodic fic that I plan to have on an at least bi-weekly posting schedule, barring external interference. This is a slow burn, as I mostly wanted to write adorable baby Bill and Dipper playing games together. I hope you enjoy!
Relationships: Bill Cipher & Dipper Pines, Bill Cipher/Dipper Pines
Comments: 24
Kudos: 97





	1. Episode 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment if you have any suggestions for early "episodes" as I may likely add them in some way!
> 
> -Lumi
> 
> P.S. Thank you Pxluo for helping me come up with the title! If y'all want some amazing asshole Bill content and incredible fanart, go check out her fics!

Thunder and an echoing laughter erupted around them, so loud that the world felt like it would be torn asunder by the sound alone. A family, bloodied, bruised and beaten, cowered together beneath the looming shadow of a being that should not exist in their reality, the source of the earth-shattering laughter. They had nowhere to go, no more plans, no more weapons to fight against this undefeatable foe. They were as good as dead and had accepted that, holding each other close as a massive fist raised, ready to crush them into paste.

That is until one, the youngest of the family, murmured an apology to his loved ones before suddenly pulling away, making a mad dash for the being. He skidded to a halt before the triangular entity, whose singular eye stared down at him in a mixture of surprise and amusement, wondering what one last desperate little ploy the child would make.

The child opened his mouth, beginning to chant in Latin as he raised a hand towards the demon, the other holding a slip of paper with the spell scrawled messily on it, torn, burned and stained but still legible to the boy.

“Ego voco super deos vetus audire postulant mea. Tolle hoc daemonium et catenam ad animam meam, ut nunquam esse sine. Misit in mortali carne et auferam nostra memoria. Da nobis novum satus et unum forte adducam daemonium ad lucem. Sic ego praecipio!” As he spoke, his eyes began to glow an eerie yellow light as a glowing chain anchored to his chest appeared, seeming to hover for a moment before leaping forward into the center of the triangular being’s form before it could let out a shout of surprise. It’s eye widened in shock as it suddenly recognized the spell, trying, too late, to smash the boy into the ground as the chain between them flashed between yellow and blue before settling into a bright green with patches of yellow and blue mottling its glowing length.

As it completed, the glow reached into the two beings, engulfing them in a blinding green light before they seemed to vanish. The family could only stare in shock at what they had just witnessed. While they stared at the space the boy and the being had just inhabited a moment ago, the world seemed to hit the rewind button. The remaining demons shouted in surprise as they struggled to not be drawn back up into the rift in the sky by a sudden reverse in gravity that only seemed to affect the things not from this world.

Their attention was suddenly drawn to the ground in the distance as they suddenly heard the cries of two babies. Exchanging looks of confusion, they slowly stand up and shuffle their way forward towards the source. Walking around a pile of rubble, they spot a pile of wriggling clothes and a fallen top hat. As they near the pile, they spot a naked dark skinned baby wriggling on the ground and wailing his lungs out. Beside him was another baby, this one pale skinned, tangled in the pile of ruined clothes that they recognized as the boy’s. They hurried forward and the two older men scooped the infants up into their arms, noting the dark black markings on their little bodies, while the young girl stood to the side, looking at the two babies that only seemed to calm down once they were brought close enough that their chubby little hands sought each other out and clung to each other.

The girl spotted the slip of paper on the ground and picked it up, brow furrowing in confusion when she saw she couldn’t read it, the words seeming to have been charred away. She finally broke the silence as she looked up at one of the older men. “Great Uncle Ford... What did Dipper just do?” Her voice cracked with disuse and shellshock.

Ford just shook his head, collecting his thoughts for a moment as he looked down at the dark skinned baby in his arms, glowing blue eyes locked on the deep brown of the pale skinned baby. After a minute or so, he finally responded. “There was... there was a spell that Dipper found that would put Bill into a mortal body, controlled by the caster, but we both agreed that it had too high of a cost...”

“Which is what, Poindexter, that it turns them both into babies?” Stan, the other man, nods to the obviously visible Big Dipper birthmark visible beneath the fluffy tuft of brown hair on the pale skinned baby. It was obvious that it was Dipper, and since Bill was supposed to be in a mortal body, the only other explanation was that the dark skinned baby must be Bill, the triangular entity that had been moments from killing them. Who now was playfully clinging to infant Dipper with the best smile an apparent newborn could muster.

He let out a sigh as he shook his head again. “That’s only... part of the cost. Come, let’s get them back to the Shack. I’ll be able to explain better than.”

The girl, Mabel, opened her mouth to protest, wanting to demand why her twin was suddenly a baby and how they could turn him back- but then she noticed the almost resigned look on his face and suddenly she felt like she didn’t  _ want _ to know what the spell had done and her mouth shut without a sound.

The eldest of them looked at his own twin, his grand niece, and the two babies before sighing. “Alright Sixer, let’s get the kids home. If we’re lucky, we can nab some baby supplies from the store before everyone figures out that this whole shi- mess is over.” He started to walk away but the babies both began to cry as they were separated, only quieting once they were close again. The older twins exchanged looks before Ford handed Bill to Stan, the man shifting his hold on Dipper so he could carry them both in his arms. With that settled, they marched their way back to town from the slowly dissolving ruins of the fearamid in the depths of the forest.

/\/\/\

They had been lucky, the baby stores were still stocked, but abandoned by their owners as the majority of the townsfolk were still in hiding at Ford’s bunker in the woods. The ones that weren’t eaten that is. The Pines family ransacked for a large haul of baby supplies piled into two shopping carts after Ford insisted they would need plenty to last them a long time, words that did not settle well with the other two. Stocked up and the babies diapered, dressed and in a dual stroller, they slowly made their way back to the shack, or what was left of it. It had been badly damaged during one of their confrontations with Bill, but it was at least still sturdy and standing, just in need of some repair to the walls... and the ceiling over the living room.

Ford and Stan left Mabel to watch the supplies and the boys while they went inside to make sure it was safe and there were no unpleasant surprises waiting for them. Cleared, they cleaned up the mess downstairs and while Ford patched up the holes in the wall with some kind of tech thingy he’d pulled from his seemingly bottomless trench coat pockets, Stan went to get the shopping carts inside, wanting to put the supplies away out of habit, leaving out some formula. He assumed that they were too small for baby food and didn’t want to risk it. Meanwhile, Ford had finished the repairs he could manage at the moment and carried the boys in while Mabel brought in the stroller, tucking it to the side by the front door before following her uncle into the living room. The roof and walls were fixed enough that they kept out the elements, but it would take time to properly complete the job.

He set down the boys on the couch gently for the time being while he talked to Mabel and Stan. He didn’t want to tell them, but he had to. They had the right to know what had happened to Dipper. The old man sat beside the newborns, rubbing his temples after taking off his glasses while Mabel wordlessly went to retrieve her other uncle. By the time they returned, Ford had sat up with a determined expression, waiting for them to sit down before he began to speak.

“The spell is extremely complex in its description, so I’ll try to restrict it down to simpler words for you two.” He had grown accustomed to dumbing down his words for them, though he hadn’t ever really had a need to with Dipper. His chest ached a little at the thought so he cleared his throat and continued. “As I said before, the spell forces the demon into a mortal body and chains its soul to the casters permanently. This effectively acts as a leash, in the loosest sense of the term as it will still have free will, but its actions are limited depending on the will of the caster when the spell is performed. So in this case, I’m assuming Dipper wanted to protect us and stop Weirdmageddon, so theoretically, Bill will never again be able to cause it, intentionally or not.”

“Well that’s all fine and dandy, but why the hel- heck are they  _ babies _ ?” Stan interrupted, grunting a bit in frustration. Ford just shook his head at his twin’s rudeness.

“I’m getting to that. The spell acts like it’s essentially giving the demon a chance to redeem itself. It reverts the caster and demon into newborn humans and temporarily erases their memories aside from a few facts. Their names, their bond, and that they only have one chance to fully complete it. It is essentially wiping their slates clean in order to give them a chance to develop and grow close without bias about each other.”

“Wait so... are they bonded or not?” Mabel looked at the babies that seemed to be trying to hold onto each other's faces, causing her heart to ache because that’s how she’d been with Dipper when they were babies, according to their parents. Oh right... Their parents... How were they supposed to tell Mom and Dad that Dipper was not only a  _ baby _ again, but bound himself to some inter-dimensional demon.

She was jolted from her thoughts as Ford answered her, looking a little uncomfortable. “Here’s where we decided to draw the line at... You see, the bond is only half formed at this stage. It’s more than just a metaphorical leash on the demon, it bonds them together as... well I guess you could say as soulmates. They’ll never be able to claim anyone as a-” He started to say something but cut himself off, glancing at his brother who just shrugged. It’s not like she wasn’t going to learn sooner or later. He reluctantly continued. “As romantic or sexual partners besides each other. This plays into the requirement in completing the bond. On the 21st anniversary of the spell being cast, which is considered their new shared birthday, today exactly 21 years from now, they will have to... Consummate their bond.”

“English, Sixer.” Stan was sure what that meant, but he wanted to be sure, praying that he was wrong.

Ford grimaced but relented, taking a moment to force himself to say it in plain terms. “They need to... mate. With each other. On their 21st birthday. If they do, the bond will be finished and their memories returned, along with both becoming immortal and their magical capabilities will be multiplied twofold. But if they don’t then, they’ll both be cursed to reincarnate and die gruesomely before their 21st birthday, forever.”

Stan and Mabel looked equally horrified, looking at the two babies, who had fallen asleep while holding hands, before looking back at Ford. “Th-this can be reversed, right?!” Mabel asked, desperation clear in her voice. She had to hope that it co- when Ford sadly shook his head, her heart broke in her chest.

“Once the spell was performed, there is no going back. I found ancient, offhand notes on it, calling it a failsafe for if a demon becomes too dangerous and they had to make sure that the demons that had been affected by it couldn’t somehow break free. And if one or both of them die, then the curse will still take effect to ensure the demon, now deemed unredeemable, will never have a chance to regain its immortality. But what happens to one, must happen to the other. They even need to be within a certain proximity to each other, or they’ll experience discomfort until they’re reunited.” He looked at their clearly distressed expressions and nods in understanding. “You see now why it was discarded by us. Or... So I thought it was. I suppose Dipper decided to hold onto it. We owe him our lives.”

The trio looked at the slumbering babies, focusing on the paler skinned one as his birthmark almost seemed to glow in acknowledgement to their attention, silence stretching out between them as they all tried to process today’s events. After a few minutes, Mabel brought up the question that had been plaguing her and seemed to have been forgotten by the older men.

“... What do we tell our parents?”


	2. Chapter 2

A little more than three years later in early autumn, Stan is relaxing on the back porch of the Shack, sipping a beer while he watched the two toddlers run around in some kind of version of tag that only a couple of three year olds could come up with, giggling and playing happily. Stan and Ford had watched them carefully, especially Bill since they were curious as to how he’d act as he got older. So far, he seemed like any other kid, if a little accident prone and drawn to picking up dead things, and the tests that Ford made on the demon-turned-human revealed that he is completely human, no demonic DNA at all. He huffed with laughter over the lip of the can as Bill shouted something gibberish to Dipper who just giggles and keeps running.

The  _ Duchess Approves’ _ opening song suddenly began to play, drawing the old man’s attention to the cell phone beside him (something he reluctantly got to keep in contact with his family.) He picked it up, swiping the little green accept button before holding it up to his ear. “Yello’?”

“Hi Uncle Stanley, it’s Merideth. I was wondering how Dipper’s doing?” Oh right, it was the 15th. He forgot that she’d be calling today. It was part of their agreement from back when the twin’s parents came up to talk about what had happened. After Stan, Ford and Mabel had processed what just happened and what it meant, they had called the twins’ parents to come up to the Falls themselves so they could explain things in person. It... hadn’t been pretty. Understandably, Merideth and their nephew, Andrew, had been livid to find that one of their children was suddenly a newborn again and had tattoos all over his small body (an exaggeration, really).

It had been quite a process explaining the whole, magic, inter-dimensional demons and whatnot to them, but it didn’t change their initial attempt to leave just with Mabel and Dipper, but the farther away he got from Bill as they drove towards the town line, the louder and more pained his cries grew until finally they were forced to turn around for fear he’d hurt himself. Once they returned, Ford explained to them about the bond, that the boys couldn’t be too far away from each other or else both would suffer discomfort that would gradually grow into actual pain, and then explained about the rest of the spell’s meaning, trying to be as delicate as possible when explaining their potential fates.

After a lot more arguing, the parents finally accepted that they couldn’t help Dipper out of this situation, but they refused to have Bill live with them or to try to explain to their friends, neighbors and the school system why Dipper was suddenly a newborn again. So they came to the reluctant agreement to have Dipper and Bill be raised together by the Stans and lie to everyone that Dipper had moved in with their Uncles since he seemed better adjusted there. They would also tell the boys that they were both adopted together and that Mabel was an older cousin of Dipper’s. Of course, when they were older, they would be told the truth, but for now, they wanted the boys (mostly Dipper) to live normal lives.

They also refused to let Mabel stay at the Shack with Dipper, insisting that she’d stay with them because they didn’t want something to happen to her as well. After Mabel’s, well not really tantrum since she was justified in her demand to still be in her brother’s life, they reluctantly agreed to let her visit during part of the summer so she could spend time with Dipper. It had taken them a few days to hash out a proper arrangement, even going so far as to put together a sort of contract. The details were pretty much the same, but they had agreed that they would call to check in on Dipper on the 15th every 3 or 4 months to check on him. They wanted to do it more frequently but Merideth was a nurse and Andrew was an attorney so they were usually too busy.

As for Mabel, she had called almost everyday until Stan had to remind her that he’d tell her if something happened and assured her that he’d take pictures for special moments and events. The poor girl had been heartbroken to leave her twin behind after everything they’d been through, but they had little choice. He felt for her, he really did. He knew better than anyone what it was like to lose your twin because of something outside your control. So he sent her update texts (after he had Wendy teach him) once a week or so and some photos (again, thank you Wendy).

Merideth and Andrew then spent some time showing the Stans how to care for newborns and gave them a book that should help them when they couldn’t answer the phone, but after about a week of them being there, they had to leave with Mabel. School would be starting and they had to make the necessary arrangements to hide the fact that Dipper was a baby again and get Mabel ready to go back to school. They decided to let the Stans handle the Gravity Falls side of things though, since after the abrupt end of Weirdmageddon, the townsfolk had constantly been pestering the family, demanding to know what had happened.

It had taken a while to fully explain things to the townsfolk since they weren’t exactly all that bright after spending the majority of their lives being affected by the memory erasing gun (destroyed in their 8th attempt to destroy Bill), but once they got it, they were surprisingly accepting. Despite the trauma that they’d experienced at the hands of Bill, they couldn’t quite equate the adorable human baby with the demonic triangle that had caused the deaths of dozens of people and the desperate need for therapy for the survivors. The Stans supposed they should be grateful of that fact, even if it was a little worrisome that they were so easily accepting.

The only ones who put up the biggest fuss were the Zodiac members, most of whom had been tortured or imprisoned by Bill at one point or another to prevent from the Zodiac being used against him. They had met separately with them before Mabel left to make a contingency plan just in case Bill, after getting his memories back should the boys make that choice, decided to try to do something against the town. Afterwards, they did a little something for Mabel’s birthday, despite her protests against doing so since she wanted to celebrate with Dipper. They gave her small gifts and promised to look out for Dipper when she wasn’t in town, which helped her feel a little better.

Things had, surprisingly, gone pretty smoothly after that. With some help from Sheriff Blubs, they made some fake birth certificates for the boys, putting Dipper’s preferred name on it since no one in town knew his real name besides his family anyway. As for Bill, they didn’t know what other possible names he might have so they just stuck with the one they knew. Honestly it wasn’t that difficult to integrate the former demon into their little family and both Stan and Ford weren’t sure how to feel about that.

Stan was jolted from him reminiscing as Merideth spoke up. “Uncle Stan?”

“Oh, uh sorry about that. I was watching the boys running around. For a couple of three year olds, they sure are energetic.” He chuckles softly as Bill threw some fallen leaves at Dipper, making him squeal with laughter as he batted them away. “Dipper’s doing well, they both are. They’re still pretty much inseparable and play well together.”

He can hear the relief in her voice as she replies. “That’s good to hear. And just wait until they turn 6, they’ll be constantly running around by then. Is Dipper always running around?”

“Yeah, he and Bill hardly sit still for longer than ten minutes. We also have to constantly make sure they don’t run off into the forest on their own. We know the magical creatures agreed to keep an eye on them but there’s still regular animals in there that wouldn’t know better.” He remembered seeing a mountain lion a few years back, but it steered clear of the Shack thankfully.

“Well, that’s good. Dipper wasn’t very active before, Andrew and I think it was because of how he was born, so it’s a relief to hear that he’s running around more often this time.”

“Oh right, I forgot the kid was strangled by his umbilical cord a little. But yeah, he’s fine. He’s already starting to show an affinity for reading too, constantly asking to be taught how to read. Bill doesn’t admit it, but I think he wants to ask too.”

Merideth laughs a little, probably shaking her head at the news. “I’m not surprised at all. He already knew his ABCs by the time he was 4 last time. Don’t be surprised if he starts reading books on his own before he and Bill start school.”

“I won’t be. I’ll admit though, I’m curious as to how Bill will adjust though. He was like, a trillion years old according to Sixer. Now he’s starting over with nothing? I just hope that he won’t be too much trouble.” Personally he wasn’t against the kids being troublemakers, in fact they were already trying to play pranks on him and Ford as well as the customers, but he didn’t mention that to Merideth.

“That’s true. I don’t know much about demons, nor do I really want to, but I  _ am _ curious how he’ll act learning things he most likely already knew before. Anyway can you te-” She was cut off when he heard a loud yelp and then crying. He looked over to where the boys were playing and saw that Dipper had fallen down, most likely tripping since Bill was still a good 15 or so feet away and hurrying over to Dipper with a concerned look on his face.

“Crap, I’ll call you back. Dipper tripped and probably scraped his knee.” He sighs, biting back a grunt as he got up from the couch as she gave a confirmation. He hung up the phone as he started to walk over to the boys as Bill knelt down beside Dipper. He looks a bit panicked as the other boy wiped at his eyes after rolling over to sit up. Sure enough Stan could see that the boy’s knee was scraped up, bleeding a little. He watched as Bill placed a hand over his knee as his expression grew determined, seeming to be focusing on a thought as his hand suddenly ignited in an all-to-familiar azure blue flame.

With equally shocked expressions, the three of them watched as Dipper’s knee slowly healed itself until the only sign that it had been hurt was the blood. The boys looked at each other with awe as the flame sputtered out before shouting in unison with bright grins. “NO-BOOBOO FIRE!”

Stan couldn’t move as he watched the exchange, his gut having filled with dread at the sight of the fire. Their shout shook him from his shock and he forced himself to walk over to them. “Hey there, how’d ya do that, Bill?”

Bill looked up at Stan with a big grin. “Dunno! I want make Dip better and did!” He looked so damn proud of himself, like he’d just discovered how to get all the cookies he wanted. Dipper was beaming too, hugging Bill.

“Bill made booboo go away!”

The old man sighed internally before reaching over and ruffling Bill’s hair. “Good job, kiddo. Why don’t we go show Uncle Ford what you did and then I’ll make you two a nice snack, ok?”

“Ok Uncy Stan!” They said in unison, getting up to run inside the Shack, unaware that Stan was fighting off a lot of mixed feelings as he followed them inside. He was glad that Bill had healed Dipper, but the fact that he’d used magic at all was worrisome. But he’d leave that to Ford to figure out, since his brother was the magic and science guy.

He followed the boys inside, tapping the hidden buzzer next to the vending machine to let Ford he needed him upstairs before heading to the kitchen while Dipper and Bill chatted excitedly about Bill’s no-booboo fire (something even Stan had to think was an adorable name). He got to work slicing up some apples while waiting for Ford, his brother coming out as he went to grab the peanut butter.

“What is it, Stanley? I’m in the middle of an experiment.” He looked over and, sure enough, the nerd was wearing his stupid labcoat and goggles. He sighed and jerked a thumb over at the still excitedly chatting boys.

“Bill used his fire to heal a scrape on Dipper’s knee after he tripped.” Ford stilled at his words so he continued. “He says he doesn’t know how he did it, just wanted to make Dipper feel better and did.” His brother nodded slowly, glancing at the boys.

“I’ll... need to run some tests. I’m sure there’s a logic-” Stan cut him off.

“Don’t bother, the kid probably just has some magic talent. Just make sure you start teaching him how to control it, I don’t want to wake up to my house burning down just because he has a tantrum and can’t control his fire.” He turned away from his brother, coating the apple slices with peanut butter and adding some chocolate chips because he felt generous. He picked up the plates and walked over to the boys as Ford silently followed, his expression unreadable.

“Here ‘ya go boys, just make sure to leave room for dinner, I’m making pasta.” He sat the plates in front of them, making them grin.

They both thank him before picking up a slice to eat. Dipper ate more neatly while Bill got peanut butter all over the place, making Stan chuckle softly as he sat down, picking up his (stolen) newspaper. He didn’t look over at Ford as he sat down too, watching Bill closely while he waited for the little blonde boy (because for some reason, despite being dark skinned, he had golden blonde hair) to finish his snack. He wanted to ask to see Bill’s fire, wanting to confirm that it was indeed the same as his former self’s fire.

After a little bit, Bill looked over, glowing blue eyes wide with curiosity and innocence that helped ease Ford’s fears. “Why Uncy Ford watch me?”

“Ah, sorry Bill, I’m just curious about your... No-booboo fire. Can you show me?”

Bill beamed with pride and nodded eagerly holding out his sticky hand as he scrunched up his face, thinking hard about that same fire he used to make Dipper’s booboo go away. After a moment, the fire blossomed in his hand, not as big as before, just a tiny little flame that danced in his palm. He grins, panting a little from the effort of bringing it back as Ford forced down the trill of fear that lit up his fight or flight response. He ignored it in favor of more closely inspecting the little flame, deciding that Stan was right. It looked very similar, but this flame lacked the demonic aura that the old Bill’s fire gave off. This fire was just normal, magical fire. He thanked Bill and told him he could let it go away.

Looks like he would have to add teaching Bill magic to his schedule, but for now he would have to just teach him to control it so that, as Stan had said, they didn’t have to worry every time he had a tantrum.

A couple of weeks later, the old man added Dipper to his plans as well as he looked up to the tree that was currently rocking Dipper until he calmed down. The brunette had had a tantrum while near the forest edge and suddenly the tree, a normal pine tree, reached down to pick him up.

Looks like things certainly wouldn’t be boring with raising these two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! I hope you enjoyed this update! Please let me know what you think in the comments, and remember, if you have any suggestions for future chapters, let me know and I might just incorporate it! ^-^
> 
> -Lumi


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being a little late, my parents have been on my case all week so I had basically no time at all to work on this or any of my other projects. I hope you enjoy this update and as usual, please leave a comment of what think!
> 
> -Lumi

It was the end of the day and Ford picked up his newest journal, one that he’d started at the beginning of this mess, and jotted down the events of the day. The boys were now a little over 5 years old but despite their youth, they were progressing well with learning to control their magic. He was honestly impressed by their seemingly innate talents, having very little difficulty in keeping them in check. Bill’s magic, as he had suspected it would be, was primarily based around fire, illusions and the mind, though he would hazard a guess that he may develop shapeshifting as well, considering his proficiency in it prior to the spell.

As for Dipper, the elder had no idea what potential abilities he may possess in the future, his own nephew for once being the wild card. According to Mabel, he had once risen an entire horde of zombies with a spell from Ford’s journal that had only been meant to raise a handful of zombies at most. So that made him suspect that the boy may have necromantic abilities, but yet most of his current abilities seemed to only be related to plants and healing magic. He had many questions but it wasn’t like he could just ask his nephew. For now, he had to content himself with simply helping him learn spells and how to channel his magic safely.

He couldn’t help the sigh that forced itself past his lips as he heard the squeals of laughter coming from the kitchen as, no doubt, the boys were messing around instead of helping his brother with the dishes. The old man scratched the back of his neck as he shook his head, allowing his mouth to crack into a smile. He hadn’t expected to enjoy raising them so much, especially Bill, but he’d never felt so at peace before. It was strange. They weren’t even his kids, but yet he still felt nothing but pride as they got something difficult right, or laugh as they pranked yet another customer with thinking that they’d bought something cursed.

It didn’t help that Stanley encouraged this behaviour as he could sell the rube a “curse breaker” as well since he still very much lived by his ‘No-Refunds’ policy. He knew he should probably stop this behaviour before it became problematic, but the shining eyes of the boys as they were praised by Stan warmed his heart. So he reconciled with himself by turning their pranks into a sort of... extra credit system since they had a real-world scenario to practice in without risk. So long as they remained harmless and non-traumatizing of course. He didn’t care to have to try to get the government off their backs again.

Finished with his writing, he set aside the journal and went to go check on his family. He paused in his steps, wondering when he’d started to call them, even Bill, his family. Stanley and Dipper he understood, but Bill...? He shook his head, pushing the small concern away. Bill was human now, with no memory of his past and the chance that he may never remember. Even if he did, he would no longer be a threat thanks to Dipper’s sacrifice. Besides, he couldn’t really compare the sweet, if mischievous, boy with the genocidal maniac of a triangle.

With a small smile, he left his room and made his way to the kitchen, walking past pictures of their family hung up on renovated walls. Not too long after Merideth and Andrew had left, they had sent them money with the stipulation that they renovated the shack so it wasn’t practically falling apart anymore. So now the splintered floors were replaced by new wood slats, the walls carefully given new sheetrock and repainted, and hell, even the sign on the roof was replaced, though now the ‘S’ was purposefully designed to hang down since it seemed to prefer being that way anyway. The place retained its rustic charm, but it wasn’t so much of a dump anymore.

Of course, Stanley still had done things as cheap as possible, but the townsfolk had helped out so even with his miserly ways, the quality was still there. That didn’t stop the occasional need to replace parts of the house though. After all, they had a couple of little kids with magic, a mad scientist (even Ford had to admit he was one) and a cheapskate that had a tendency to flirt with the wrong kinds of women. Not to mention the countless supernatural creatures that surrounded them that sometimes paid visits to the old men or Mabel when she was in town.

Surprisingly Mabel was probably the least destructive out of all of them, even with her minimal stays. Her boy craze phase had only evolved after she’d realized that she was pansexual, but her many and various (some were even supernatural) dates very rarely ended up causing any trouble around the shack, to Stanley’s relief. No, in fact some even left them gifts that were very helpful. When they asked Mabel about it, she just shrugged and said she just was honest with them and they seemed to appreciate that.

The old man just mentally shrugged off the thoughts before turning the corner into the kitchen, having to stifle a snort of laughter as the entire space was covered in soap bubbles, including the 5 year olds and his brother who was trying to just ignore them as he washed the dishes, a plume of suds resting on his large nose.

Dipper was currently pinning Bill down as he smothered his hair in soap bubbles, both of them giggling and laughing. He sighed in amusement, walking over to his brother and wiping the suds off of his nose, earning a grateful grunt from his twin. “They learned how to duplicate things.” Was all he said, shrugging a shoulder towards the 3 half empty bottles of dish soap that were probably the sources of the sheer amount of bubbles.

“I see that.” He shakes his head in amusement, walking over to grab paper towels from the cabinets. “Boys, you do realize that you’ll have to help clean this up.” That earned a couple of whines from them as they looked up from their spot on the floor.

“But whyyyy? They’ll go away on their own!” Bill complained, sitting up, blonde hair full of suds and tangled up into spikes that shot off in all directions, the boy pouting.

“Because while they will do that, they can leave behind a film of soap that will make things feel slimy and gross for ages.” Sort of an exaggeration, but little else would work on them since they were in their “No” phases. Again. If it didn’t have to do with ‘fun’ things, they were just as likely to run off the moment he turned his back as they were to help. Quite amusing most of the time, if he was being honest.

“Really?” Dipper’s eyes widened as he looked around the covered room, as though picturing it feeling slimy everywhere.

“Really. Now, if you help clean up, I’ll tell you about one of the dimensions that I visited when I was younger.” Less visited and more fled to but they didn’t need to know that. He watched as they perked up at that, excited to learn more about the cool places he’s been to. They scrambled over each other and practically yanked the paper towels out of his hand before they were running around the room, cleaning up every spot. Ford used the opportunity to study their methods a little, watching Dipper use his control over plants to get the potted plants that he’d been caring for (under Ford’s supervision of course) to help get to difficult to reach places while Bill focused on the other spaces. They’d become quite the duo already, practically communicating without words who would do what in order to achieve their goals. It was enviable, in a way.

While they cleaned up the room, he walked back to Stanley’s side, picking up a dry dish cloth to start drying dishes and putting them away, working in companionable silence with his twin while the boys snickered and poked fun at each other while they cleaned. They were a strange little family, but Ford found himself not wishing to change a thing. Well, it’d be nice to have Mabel around more often, but she was a young adult now and was looking into colleges, they couldn’t expect her to stay with them when she had her own life to live.

Once the four of them had finished, Ford ushered the boys upstairs to their shared room in the attic while Stan went to watch some tv for a little while. The five year olds quickly got changed into their pjs and crawled into their beds, both having their own but typically the old men would find them cuddling in one or the other by morning. It was adorable, really. He grabbed a chair and sat in between their beds, the room neater on, surprisingly, Bill’s side. It wasn’t all that different from when it had been Mabel and Dipper sharing the room, but they’d decorated it for the young kids to enjoy. It was actually pretty easy since they had very similar interests, both loving to read and be read to and both loved space and the forest, and they mostly shared their toys.

If Ford was being honest with himself, he would think that they were probably going to be good for eachother once they were old enough to have feelings like that, and it was probably for the best that it had been Dipper who had gone through with the spell. But he didn’t want to think about that. Instead he thought about which dimension he should tell them about, mulling it over before snapping his fingers as he thought of a good one.

“Have I told you two about dimension 42-8-90? Or more commonly known as the Water Dimension?”

Their eyes widened in awe at the name alone, shaking their heads. Ford smiled at their reactions, getting comfortable. “Well, it’s a dimension almost entirely composed of water molecules, with small pockets of rocks, earth and other materials. Think of it as a biiiig ocean that goes on forever with lots of tiny islands and everyone there is some kind of aquatic species. Many of them could be called sirens or merfolk in a loose sense.” It was quite a bit more complex than that, but they were 5, they wouldn’t understand that.

“Oh, oh, oh! Is there a mer-you and a mer-me and a mer-Bill and a mer-Uncle Stan?!” Dipper chirped up, excited and practically bouncing in his spot, making him chuckle.

“There might be, but I didn’t meet them. It’s a big place and I was very limited since I can’t breath underwater and I wouldn’t be able to survive swimming down to the depths where their cities are. I spent most of my time on one of the islands and in the shallows, trading with some locals and learning about the dimension. I would normally have made myself a device to allow me to travel, but technology was rare there since they had little need for it.” At their pouts he added on. “Maybe when you’re older, I’ll take you two to visit yourself someday.”

They gasped and pleaded for him to take them, eyes shining in a way that reminded him of himself when he was a boy. He shushed them gently and answered their questions as they were shot at him at a rapid fire pace. After a little while, their questions slowed as their eyelids began to droop. With a smile, he told them to get some sleep before tucking them in, ignoring their mumbled complaints as he flicked off the light and closed the bedroom door behind him, making his way downstairs to join his brother in watching some tv.

**Author's Note:**

> Spell Translation:  
> “I call upon the gods of old to hear my demand. Take this demon and chain it to my soul, so that we may never be apart. Cast it into mortal flesh and take away our memories. Give us a new start and one chance to bring the demon to the light. So I command!”


End file.
